Pixelpalooza: 15“ Retina MacBook Pro reviewed

Enlarge / Apple applied lessons learned from the MacBook Air to make its Retina MacBook Pro thinner and lighter.

Chris Foresman

A thinner, "Retina" MacBook Pro had been rumored for some time, and Apple did not disappoint when it introduced the new 15" Retina MacBook Pro at its Worldwide Developers Conference last week.

Availability has been rather scarce since the notebook's launch last week, but we were able to get our hands on the base $2,199 model for testing. (Many Apple Store retail locations had little or no stock during launch week, as early inventory apparently went to fill a rash of online orders for early adopters).

The base model is more than adequate to get a feel for the new "Retina" redesign. We put the machine through some benchmark paces to look at relative raw performance, and spent a couple of days using the machine for our usual work to get a more subjective impression of the whole package—and we came away impressed.

"Future of notebooks"

Apple could have chosen a simpler path to revising its MacBook Pro. The Retina display could have been a drop-in replacement for the existing 15.4" 1440x900 display. Perhaps it could have removed the optical drive, replaced the boot drive with a MacBook Air-like SSD module, and kept the internal 2.5" bay for optional additional storage in the form of another SSD or a relatively inexpensive, but vastly more massive, HDD. Such a design would have likely sold well, and Apple's designers could move on to the next project (hello, new Mac Pro).

Then again, the company traditionally hasn't had problems pushing consumers to adopt designs they might be uncomfortable with at first. Recall the words that Steve Jobs used when he introduced the redesigned MacBook Air in October 2010: "We've tried to be really aggressive [with the design]," Jobs said. "We see these as the next generation of MacBooks—all notebooks will be like this."

The new 15" Retina MacBook Pro is the first time Apple has applied the same design thinking that went into that new Air to its "pro" notebooks. Spinning hard drives? Gone. Optical storage? Useless anachronism. FireWire and Ethernet? Vestigial, obsolete ports.

But this isn't a stripped-down machine with ultra low voltage processors. The new MacBook Pro differentiates itself from the Air by packing in a quad-core Ivy Bridge processor built on Intel's latest 22nm process. It includes Intel's HD4000 integrated GPU, which isn't quite the pixel-y sloth that past Intel IGPs used to be. It also packs in a discrete NVIDIA GeForce GT 650M mobile GPU with 1GB of dedicated DDR5 memory, and you get at least 8GB of DDR3 RAM standard.

Chris Foresman

All this hardware pumps 5.1 million pixels to the 2880x1800 pixel Retina display—the sharpest, highest resolution display Apple has shipped in any of its computers thus far.

Still, Apple has kept the previous 15" MacBook Pro design around for those that aren't quite ready for the future. It has an upgradeable 2.5" drive slot and two slots for RAM. It also has a full array of ports, including FireWire and gigabit Ethernet. And, perhaps most importantly to those still dependent on CDs and DVDs, it has an optical drive for those who want the convenience of having one built-in.

But making hard decisions about what stayed in and what had to go has allowed Apple to build a machine that's every bit as powerful—and with the right adapters, as capable—as last year's MacBook Pro design. Yet Apple shaved about 27 percent of the volume and over a pound of weight in the process.

Design

The same huge glass trackpad dominates a large portion of the 15" Retina MacBook Pro when opened.

Chris Foresman

If you have seen any unibody MacBook Pro in the last few years, you already have a pretty good idea of what the Retina MacBook Pro looks like. It has the same textured aluminum finish, the same rounded corners, and the same huge trackpad. The display has a uniform black appearance when the screen is off, due to its fused glass panel—similar to the display assembly of the iPhone 4 and 4S.

The keyboard is slightly different from that used on previous Pro models. Its layout is identical to the current MacBook Air, including the extra key in the F13 position that serves as the power button. (The aluminum power button on the upper right is now gone). And like all of Apple's laptops, the keyboard is backlit.

The backlit keyboard is more Air-like, including the revised power button.

Chris Foresman

The feel of the keyboard is also slightly different. The keys themselves have a very slight texture to them. Key travel appears to be slightly reduced. It's hard to quantify, but there's definitely less travel than previous Pros, or even my 2010 MacBook Air. We wouldn't call this bad, per se, but it's something you will notice and may take some time getting used to.

Laser-etched speaker grilles flank either side of the keyboard, and a noise-canceling microphone is hidden behind each.

One area where the new Pro differs from the old design is the addition of small linear vents along the bottom side edges of the casing. These vents are part of the revised cooling system, and Apple claims that the way they are carved into the unibody creates additional torsional rigidity. There's no noticeable flex in either MacBook Pro as far as we can tell, though—both seem pretty solid.

Additional vents line both edges of the Retina MacBook Pro.

Chris Foresman

So the design isn't really new, per se, just slightly refined for this particular model. It's thin, solid, and feels like a professional machine—exactly what you would expect.

The Retina MacBook Pro is essentially the same thickness as a MacBook Air at its thickest point—0.71 inches versus 0.68 inches, respectively.

The benchmark charts on page 5 have a lot of textual errors. Like the 12.2Ghz MBA.

That said, while the MBP seems like a nice upgrade. The heat was a major concern for me because most of the last few generations have been running dangerously hot, like 178ºF when playing games like WoW (and WoW is a game typically played for hours at a time). This new one runs at a cool 145ºF under load.

However, I think Apple went just a tad too far in sacrificing things to get there. Combined with the soldered SSD, the non-upgradable RAM was the ultimate deal-breaker for me.

I run into cases all the time where a bad RAM stick or bad sectors on a drive, mechanical or SSD, cause all kinds of crashes and kernel panics. I'm not about to put myself in a position where I have to pay completely insane charges to upgrade something I have to pay even more to fix later when I could've had the option of fixing it myself for a fraction of the cost.

I'll wait and see what "Retina 2.0: The Next Revision" holds in store for us.

Apple seems to be tightening it's iron grasp on both the hardware and software fronts lately. And that's something that has me worried.

I'm still on OS X 10.6.8 because I can't stand this App Store DRM crap in Lion. That and I refuse to migrate from Starcraft 1 and Diablo 2 to the forced always-on connection of Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3.

Absolutely agree about the GPU switching. I always have gfxCardStatus running to keep tabs on what's going on with the GPU usage. I try to avoid leaving applications that use the discrete open when I am not using them.

An API allowing an application to opt into using the lower power GPU would be great. Twitter and Skype are applications that cause my Macbook to start using its GT 330m instead of the integrated, this really is not necessary for what the applications actually do, but they are also applications that expect to be left running in the background. Especially considering the new Intel HD 4000 is actually not that far off of beating my current discrete graphics, I really hope Apple can come up with a solution to improve battery life. Especially for users like myself who don't like to see much more than 10W being drawn when I'm only browsing the web!

I can't help thinking that they'd have been able to fit in an RJ45 connector at the current height if they'd allowed a bump on the underside base curves (or used a much smaller radius on the sides). Would that really have had such a drastic impact on the aesthetics?

I played with one for the first time for a while in an apple store yesterday and very desirable they are too.

However despite Apple making a point about it being 70% less reflective, make no mistake, this is still a glossy screen.

There is still a big difference between the non-glare and the retina in terms of reflexions. i spent a little while comparing the 2 model and, while the sharpness of the retina display is amazing in comparison, i still prefer the matt screen

when i spend this amount of money on a machine i don't want to be watching myself - i can get a mirror much cheaper than that ! I also don't want to have to reposition the lights in a room or myself and the machine to cut down on the glare.

I imagine that the retina models will become ubiquitous by next year and the old pro models disappear as the yield on screens and pricing on screens and ssds come down. If and when this happens I really hope that apple retains an option for a matt screen model.

What's really disappointing is how little was gained for the loss of the optical drive. Surely we could have squeezed an HD bay in that space?

They made it thinner, put in an extra fan, and more battery. I do not find it surprising that there is no room for a HDD. I carry a 500GB external HDD with me in my bag. I hardly notice its weight, and seems to me the perfect solution.

I'm still on OS X 10.6.8 because I can't stand this App Store DRM crap in Lion. That and I refuse to migrate from Starcraft 1 and Diablo 2 to the forced always-on connection of Starcraft 2 and Diablo 3.

NO one force you to use the app store in lion or mountain lion. (by the way, the app store is available for snow leopard and no drm eat you, no ? )

Of course you can always install software as YOU want. In ML you can limit to only certified software (and yes, mostly all Mac developers will gladly add a certificate to their software) AND it's YOU who decides !

You can ask to allow ALL apps whatever the source or certificate or not. You can ALWAYS ask the finder to force an exception

I'd love to see 13" MBP retina and non-retina variants with no DVD-RW bay and a huge battery like this.The non-retina could easily get 10 hours, which with my usage would mean a whole flight or day out in the woods of productivity..

I don't get what the benefit of a retina display is on the MBP. I mean, one can argue that the iPhone may be held very close to your eyes from time to time, where the increased pixel density would actually make a difference. But a laptop? I'm sure the display looks very impressive when hunched over an inch away from the display, but in reality nobody is going to use one closer than 18-24 inches from their eyes. At that distance, it is physiologically impossible to perceive the increased pixel density over the last generation MBP. Seems like a lot of additional expense for something that is not really necessary.

I don't get what the benefit of a retina display is on the MBP. I mean, one can argue that the iPhone may be held very close to your eyes from time to time, where the increased pixel density would actually make a difference. But a laptop? I'm sure the display looks very impressive when hunched over an inch away from the display, but in reality nobody is going to use one closer than 18-24 inches from their eyes. At that distance, it is physiologically impossible to perceive the increased pixel density over the last generation MBP. Seems like a lot of additional expense for something that is not really necessary.

Oh believe me - based on standing in front of the new machine and the matt screen ( which is already higher than the normal screen ) - it is not only possible but in fact quite clear

However, I think Apple went just a tad too far in sacrificing things to get there. Combined with the soldered SSD, the non-upgradable RAM was the ultimate deal-breaker for me.

Soldered RAM is no big deal, it comes with 8GB minimum, and if this is giving you worries opt for 16GB. Sure it is a bit of ripoff like most Apple upgrades, but it eliminates your ram worries if you are a power user.

A soldered SSD would be an unforgivable crime, but that isn't the case. It is a non standard connector, which means you will have to wait for upgrades to be available. Not nearly as bad.

Am-I the only one using a kensington lock to secure my macbook pro? What shall we do with the new retina one? Glue on the desk?

Stop using that garbage. I've cut many Kensington laptop locks with a Leatherman pocket tool in about a minute and I broke some with two large screwdrivers and I'm not even a very strong person. Most have a weak, hollow spot near the loop or the lock.

BTW, I saw one of these new retina MacBooks yesterday. The screen is indeed OMFG amazing and it's almost weird how thin it is.

I know it's been said multiple times, but that soldered ram is one of the two things stopping me from buying it. The other reason that makes me hesitant is that battery, too many problems with the old MacBooks and those batteries make me cringe at non-replaceable batteries. If they dropped the memory upgrage by $50-75 and battery replacement by $50, I'd be their next satisfied customer. I am aware that it seems like I'm being a little nitpicky, but I believe most people would agree with me.

Am-I the only one using a kensington lock to secure my macbook pro? What shall we do with the new retina one? Glue on the desk?

Stop using that garbage. I've cut many Kensington laptop locks with a Leatherman pocket tool in about a minute and I broke some with two large screwdrivers and I'm not even a very strong person. Most have a weak, hollow spot near the loop or the lock.

BTW, I saw one of these new retina MacBooks yesterday. The screen is indeed OMFG amazing and it's almost weird how thin it is.

I have one i rarely use - I find it inconvenient - but it still took you a minute and it would probably have been fairly obvious what you were doing

so while they wouldn't necessarilly stop a determined thief with tools and a little time this would deter opportunistic theft in a lot of cases

Am-I the only one using a kensington lock to secure my macbook pro? What shall we do with the new retina one? Glue on the desk?

Stop using that garbage. I've cut many Kensington laptop locks with a Leatherman pocket tool in about a minute and I broke some with two large screwdrivers and I'm not even a very strong person. Most have a weak, hollow spot near the loop or the lock.

BTW, I saw one of these new retina MacBooks yesterday. The screen is indeed OMFG amazing and it's almost weird how thin it is.

I have one i rarely use - I find it inconvenient - but it still took you a minute and it would probably have been fairly obvious what you were doing

so while they wouldn't necessarilly stop a determined thief with tools and a little time this would deter opportunistic theft in a lot of cases

I played with one for the first time for a while in an apple store yesterday and very desirable they are too.

However despite Apple making a point about it being 70% less reflective, make no mistake, this is still a glossy screen.

There is still a big difference between the non-glare and the retina in terms of reflexions. i spent a little while comparing the 2 model and, while the sharpness of the retina display is amazing in comparison, i still prefer the matt screen

when i spend this amount of money on a machine i don't want to be watching myself - i can get a mirror much cheaper than that ! I also don't want to have to reposition the lights in a room or myself and the machine to cut down on the glare.

I imagine that the retina models will become ubiquitous by next year and the old pro models disappear as the yield on screens and pricing on screens and ssds come down. If and when this happens I really hope that apple retains an option for a matt screen model.

Are you listening Apple , please - is there anyone out there ?

The problem with matte screens is you get glare. Reflections or glare, you have to pick one.

I use my mac book pro as a work machine and I avoid leaving too much precious data on the hard drive. If there is need for more space, I rather carry, an external SSD drive along with me.I like the base version of the retina MBP, but I will probably upgrade the RAM to 16 GB since that cannot be changed later.

Am-I the only one using a kensington lock to secure my macbook pro? What shall we do with the new retina one? Glue on the desk?

Stop using that garbage. I've cut many Kensington laptop locks with a Leatherman pocket tool in about a minute and I broke some with two large screwdrivers and I'm not even a very strong person. Most have a weak, hollow spot near the loop or the lock.

BTW, I saw one of these new retina MacBooks yesterday. The screen is indeed OMFG amazing and it's almost weird how thin it is.

I have one i rarely use - I find it inconvenient - but it still took you a minute and it would probably have been fairly obvious what you were doing

so while they wouldn't necessarilly stop a determined thief with tools and a little time this would deter opportunistic theft in a lot of cases

Probably true. But mind you, I am not an experienced thief. I was just messing around with leftover locks, or in few cases when people lost their keys. A real, strong thief can probably break those in matter of seconds. We had laptops stolen from labs in the middle of the day with people around. In most cases we found broken Kensington locks.

I played with one for the first time for a while in an apple store yesterday and very desirable they are too.

However despite Apple making a point about it being 70% less reflective, make no mistake, this is still a glossy screen.

There is still a big difference between the non-glare and the retina in terms of reflexions. i spent a little while comparing the 2 model and, while the sharpness of the retina display is amazing in comparison, i still prefer the matt screen

when i spend this amount of money on a machine i don't want to be watching myself - i can get a mirror much cheaper than that ! I also don't want to have to reposition the lights in a room or myself and the machine to cut down on the glare.

I imagine that the retina models will become ubiquitous by next year and the old pro models disappear as the yield on screens and pricing on screens and ssds come down. If and when this happens I really hope that apple retains an option for a matt screen model.

Are you listening Apple , please - is there anyone out there ?

The problem with matte screens is you get glare. Reflections or glare, you have to pick one.

i think you might be a little confused. The matt screen as apple used to call it is now referred to as the Antiglare screen meaning the glossy is in fact the glare screen. So you don't get glare on the matt screens - thats the whole point of getting one - no reflexions - no glare - which is the downside to the glossy screens that are on the majority of laptops these days. And lets face it a big part of the appeal to the manufactures is that if you put a sheet of reflective glass over the screen it protects the lcd from pressure damage and therefore cuts down on warrantee repairs. probably a major factor in why you have to pay extra for a Antiglare screen - its a downpayment on repairs

glare |gle(ə)r| verb1 stare in an angry or fierce way:2 (of the sun or an electric light) shine with a strong or dazzling light:noun1 a fierce or angry stare.2 strong and dazzling light:3 dazzling or showy appearance; tawdry brilliance:glary adjective

I am sure this laptop is highly impressive, but I am very comfortable and happy with my 17" 1920x1200 display. I have my optical drive that I use somewhat frequently as well as my ethernet port that I use to transfer large amounts of data when wireless speeds don't cut it. For a laptop, I consider 1920x1200 the minimum resolution I am comfortable with and that wouldn't fly for me in anything smaller than 17".

I was surprised to not see as a con that the battery replacement, which is not user replaceable, costs $200 - about 10% of the of the purchase price. That is a HUGE negative and financial consideration in deciding to purchase this machine.

I played with one for the first time for a while in an apple store yesterday and very desirable they are too.

However despite Apple making a point about it being 70% less reflective, make no mistake, this is still a glossy screen.

There is still a big difference between the non-glare and the retina in terms of reflexions. i spent a little while comparing the 2 model and, while the sharpness of the retina display is amazing in comparison, i still prefer the matt screen

when i spend this amount of money on a machine i don't want to be watching myself - i can get a mirror much cheaper than that ! I also don't want to have to reposition the lights in a room or myself and the machine to cut down on the glare.

I imagine that the retina models will become ubiquitous by next year and the old pro models disappear as the yield on screens and pricing on screens and ssds come down. If and when this happens I really hope that apple retains an option for a matt screen model.

Are you listening Apple , please - is there anyone out there ?

The problem with matte screens is you get glare. Reflections or glare, you have to pick one.

i think you might be a little confused. The matt screen as apple used to call it is now referred to as the Antiglare screen meaning the glossy is in fact the glare screen. So you don't get glare on the matt screens - thats the whole point of getting one - no reflexions - no glare - which is the downside to the glossy screens that are on the majority of laptops these days. And lets face it a big part of the appeal to the manufactures is that if you put a sheet of reflective glass over the screen it protects the lcd from pressure damage and therefore cuts down on warrantee repairs. probably a major factor in why you have to pay extra for a Antiglare screen - its a downpayment on repairs

glare |gle(ə)r| verb1 stare in an angry or fierce way:2 (of the sun or an electric light) shine with a strong or dazzling light:noun1 a fierce or angry stare.2 strong and dazzling light:3 dazzling or showy appearance; tawdry brilliance:glary adjective

Nope, not confused. I haven't used an Apple matte screen, but regular matte screens DO get glare (which is different from a reflection). Look at this pic, the light on the surround is reflection, and the light on the screen is glare.